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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

COULD GUN SAFETY BECOME THE NEW MARRIAGE EQUALITY?

In the wake of the tragedy in
Orlando, the LGBT community can play a leading role in turning this
tragic moment into a powerful movement that takes on the issue of gun safety
once and for all.

As millions of people around the
world are dealing with their immediate feelings of shock, disbelief and
horror at the mass shooting that took place at the Pulse nightclub in
Orlando, the question of how we, the LGBT community, can best respond has
arisen. Once we process the immediate emotions, is there anything we can do to
honour those who have died, those who’s lives have been changed forever and do
all we can to ensure we never find ourselves in this situation again?

There are a number of facets to
the events that unfolded. There is a terror element, with the
perpetrator professing ties and allegiance to terror group ISIS. There is
arguably a stronger and more pronounced hate element, with the perpetrator
choosing a gay nightclub, and gay patrons, as his targets. And then there’s the
element that enabled the perpetrator to combine terror and hatred into the
tragedy that unfolded – guns.

Whether we like it or not, the
LGBT community has found itself smack bang in the middle of the gun safety
issue. How we act now has the potential to prevent another tragedy like this
happening again. And if we’re truly looking for a way to honour those who have
died, and to ensure they didn’t die in vain, perhaps this is one way we can do
it.

The problem is huge and the
sheer scale of it is massive. Each year, over 33,000 lives are lost in America
due to gun violence. There have now been over two dozen mass shootings during
President Obama’s term in office. And yet, nothing seems to be done about it.

In his remarks following the
Orlando tragedy, President Obama’s comments had a sense of resignation about
them.

“This massacre
is, therefore, a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their
hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school or in a house of
worship, or in a movie theater, or in a nightclub,” he said. “And we have to
decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing
is a decision as well.”– President Obama

We, the LGBT community can also
choose to actively do nothing as well. And yes, while the global outpouring of
grief seen in vigils and the lighting of monuments around the world is moving,
the sad fact is that it won’t last. Whether it’s in a few weeks or a few
months, what happened in Orlando will go from being a tragedy, to becoming
a statistic and a symbol of a much greater, and still unresolved, issue.

What we can do is parlay the
emotion and the willingness to overcome the helplessness many of us are
feeling into doing something constructive, lasting and impactful. We can
do something that channels the feelings so many of us around the world are
feeling right now – anger, disbelief, sadness, fear – to create something
that truly honours the people who’s lives ended or were permanently impacted
that night. We can take on the issue of gun control.

The unfortunate truth seem
to be that if we don’t do it, no one else will. If after the Sandy Hook
massacre, when 20 six year old children were killed, the American government
was unable to do anything, it begs that question – what will it take for
something to get done? Maybe, just maybe, it’s this latest attack.

While the massacre of children
is beyond comprehension, that tragedy didn’t trigger the same global response
as what we’re seeing in response to the Orlando tragedy. What we’re seeing
around the world is a very public display of unity, from a community that has
for too long been ostracised, demonised and vilified.

But it’s the decades of
discrimination and abuse that we have endured and survived that places us in
the best position to be able to respond to this particular event and take on
this very difficult issue.

From our experiences in
mobilising a concerted and unified response to the AIDs crisis in the 80s and
to the marriage equality debate over the last decade, we have the
infrastructure in place to choose an issue and a goal, and pursue it
aggressively until we achieve it.

We have the means to do this.
Last year, the US supreme court enshrined marriage equality into law. It
was a case of mission accomplished. But what happens to all the organisations
and all the hard working, talented and motivated people who worked within the
marriage equality movement? Where are they now? And are they interested in
taking on the issue of gun safety?

Surely we can translate our
progress in HIV/AIDS treatment and awareness and the marriage equality victory
and apply the same tenacity, determination and grit to deal with the issue of
guns in America. I know it’s not an easy issue, but that’s never stopped or
scared us before.

The LGBT community has the
resources to take on the issue of gun safety in the USA. The question is –
do we have the will?